What It Was Like To Be Psy's Roommate When He Was Dropout At Boston University in 1996

No other singer has made a music video that has been seen more
than 1 billion times, as South Korea's Psy has. By that measure,
he's the biggest pop phenomenon on the planet. His
new song, "Gentleman M/V" has been seen 166 million times
after just one week on YouTube.
On its own, that's a huge achievement.

But Psy wasn't born a pop star.

He originally planned to go into business. His father is Park
Won-Ho, the chairman of DI Corporation (which makes
semiconductors) and his mom is Kim Young-hee, a restaurateur in
the Gangnam district of South Korea.

In the late 1990s he went to Boston University to study business
administration, but dropped out when his interest in music
eclipsed his willingness to study, or even show
up to class on time. He then briefly attended Berklee College
of Music, but didn't complete that course either. He spent his
leftover tuition money on a computer, a keyboard, and a MIDI, and
ultimately returned to Korea.

We received an email from someone claiming to be Psy's former
roommate during his time in Boston. While we can't verify
everything our source tells us — these are memories from
1996 - 1998, after all — they certainly dovetail with what we
know about the pre-fame life of Psy (real name Park
Jae-Sang).

At the time, his disinterest in studying was legendary among his
friends, the roommate tells us:

… I will tell you the broad strokes.

I lived with him 97-98.

He was still fat. Lazy. Messy. Typical Korean-male studying
abroad.

His family had money so he lived well.

He missed classes all day long. Flunked everything. When we ate
and drank he would put on shows at the karaoke spots.

We used to grab his chubby cheeks and tell him to "wake up!
You're never going to make it in entertainment with a fat ugly
face like yours!"

He would always respond with resolve. "I will make it! I'm going
to be a star! Just you watch!"